When Did We Become Men?
by AlisonLydon
Summary: Josh asks a question. A gap filler before part III of the Drake and Torey trilogy. See Thursday's Tears and Four Seasons for more info. COMPLETED. Please Read and Review.


**When Did We Become Men?**

**A Drake & Josh fan-fic**

**A one off short short story by Alison Lydon**

**Lead characters:**

**Drake Parker & Josh Nichols**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. No copyright infringement is**

**intended.**

**Told in first person by: Josh Nichols**

_Unpublished article _

_I was stuck washing the dishes again because my brother always found a way to get _

_out of mundane household tasks. You might wonder why I was even stuck doing _

_them? Couldn't I speak up about it? Yes, I could, but Drake and I reconnected after _

_many months of not talking. It sucks being an adolescent. On one hand you don't _

_want to be thought of a kid, and yet when it comes to the real tough adult decisions _

_you don't want to make them. To be sharing this apartment with him in San Diego, _

_where we grew up, means a lot to me. He's not here all the time. Most of his time is _

_spent playing in his band and trying to forget the love of his life even existed. I can't _

_even remember what started our argument. I think it was building up for a long time. _

_Then the mother who abandoned me came back into my life and I thought it would _

_be __a good idea to put off college and go to Ohio to live with her. I was a psychotic _

_mess __and I'm here to tell you, you don't have to be a little perfect sixteen year old _

_girl__to __develop an eating disorder, because I have done my share of binging and _

_purging in __the family bucket. But then I realized while my birth mother Josie might _

_have cared __about me in her own way, she didn't really love me the way Audrey, my _

_stepmother, __did. Josie would have her hands out for anyone to pay her bills other _

_than herself and __she didn't care if I had to work two jobs and put my education on _

_hold. I really hurt my (I wish she was my biological) mother's __feelings and it caused _

_a __long __separation between her and my __Dad, Walter, which was __one of the many _

_reasons __why Drake hated me. He, Audrey, __and Megan were a tight __family unit _

_before __Dad __and I came into the picture._

_Megan, my stepsister, who started off as a prankster who has more gadgets than an _

_electronics store catalogue is now a beautiful young woman. Although, she still _

_likes __to pull a trick every now and again, but at least she stopped shocking me with _

_mystery __buttons._

_She's extremely intelligent and I think she'd make a great detective._

_I lost the love of my life too. Her name was Mindy Crenshaw. She was also very _

_intelligent and beautiful. I have to live with the fact that I almost tried raping her to _

_get __her back into my life. Her friends were right to storm in the tent and beat the _

_crap out __of me. I was spiraling out of control and I didn't need drugs or drink to do it. _

_But I miss __Mindy with all of my heart and I hope she realizes that I am sorry._

_Which leads me to Torey Becker. The only girl my brother truly and deeply loved. It _

_scared the Hell out of him. He'll admit that much. I was already gone from his life _

_when for reasons I don't want to put in print without my brother's permission he _

_decided to break up with her on their wedding day. We have no idea where she is _

_now. Last I heard she went to Wellesley College in Boston. I do know that when he _

_moved in our parents had dropped off a box that contained their engagement photo _

_that was in the San Diego Union-Tribune and he didn't know that I was there by his _

_door not __because I was spying, but because I wanted to ask him if he wanted to _

_order __a pizza __and he held the picture to his chest and cried, wishing he could take _

_back the __moment when he decided that leaving her on their wedding day was a _

_good idea. I __closed the door and when he came out he put on the act. (He was _

_always a good __performer) and pretended that everything was hunky-dory while he _

_took out his literal __little black book and if he couldn't be loved, he would at least be _

_comforted by __someone familiar._

_I hated seeing him like this and I tried looking for Torey, but the Wellesley student _

_directory was closed to non-alumni and the one other person I know of who went to _

_school there, a girl from Belleview High named Kathy said she couldn't find any _

_information on Torey._

_That is why I didn't tell Drake, I don't want his heart to break even more._

_I'm going to the University of San Diego as a journalism major. I'm trying to write _

_the __all-American novel and maybe I can get my dream fulfilled and be on the _

_Oprah __Winfrey Show. I have a job at the Premiere movie theatre as an assistant _

_manager. I __used to work there when I was in high school. I can't believe my _

_manager Helen __Du'Bois even remembered me and hired me on the spot. _

_Sometimes you get a __good __turn in life._

_I don't know if I am going to publish this piece or not or keep it in my private online _

_diary, but I want to know when did the tide turn? When did my brother and me _

_become __men? It seems like only yesterday that I ruined Drake's red Fender _

_Stratocaster __signed by Zero Gravity guitarist Devon Malone (that's another article to _

_be written!) or __when Drake took advantage of the situation (yet another article) and _

_had a party at __Helen's condo. But he's a good brother. I love that guy._

_He is putting out a sampler CD in a few months and I hope it sells well. Drake _

_deserves his success he's been through a lot. I'd rather give up any chance I might _

_have with Mindy in the future, if Drake and Torey could get back together tomorrow._

_I look in the mirror and I look the same as I did when I was eighteen. Still young and _

_ready __to __conquer the world, still though, I'd like to know when did we become men?_

_--Josh Nichols_

_Unknown Date_

The End

Notes: I promise I didn't forget part III of the Drake and Torey trilogy. This is just to fill

in the gaps so I can take it where this leaves off. Thanks for everyone who read and

reviewed. I do appreciate it.


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